Traveler's Edition
The outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease has spread to more than 20 countries in America.
Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados have all been affected. As well as, Africa, Oceania/Pacific Islands and Asia.
The US Centers for Disease Control says that women who are trying to get pregnant should talk to their doctor about their plans to travel. It is believed that the virus can travel through the placenta in a woman and affect the health of an unborn baby. The defect is called, Microcephaly, and causes smaller than normal cerebrums in babies and improperly developed brains.
People have been advised to take precautions by wearing long sleeved Tshirts and trousers, keeping doors and windows closes and wearing insect repellent containing DEET or picaridin.
